Here’s how many pills Myrtle Beach police collected on Prescription Drug Take Back Day
More than 20,000 prescription pills made their way into safe hands Saturday.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department reported 24,344 pills were dropped off as part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s first Prescription Drug Take Back Day of 2019.
“Very successful day!” Myrtle Beach police tweeted Saturday afternoon.
The DEA’s website reports that 6 million people misused prescription drugs in 2017, according to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It adds that the study found that the majority of abused prescription drugs were taken from friends and family, often from a medicine cabinet.
Take Back Day aims to prevent as many of those situations as possible.
“The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue,” the DEA’s website reads. “The DEA’s Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths.”
There are several government buildings and local businesses that participate in collecting unwanted drugs every day in addition to the two Take Back Day events per year. The second Take Back Day event is usually in October, but it was not yet listed on the DEA’s website.
Nationally, Take Back Day in October collected 914,236 pounds of pills, which equates to more than 457 tons.
